{"id":7547,"date":"2020-05-01T13:00:10","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T20:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7547"},"modified":"2020-04-26T16:46:22","modified_gmt":"2020-04-26T23:46:22","slug":"mark-watches-jane-the-virgin-s01e01-chapter-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2020\/05\/mark-watches-jane-the-virgin-s01e01-chapter-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Jane the Virgin’: S01E01 – Chapter One"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the first episode of the first season of Jane the Virgin<\/i>, Jane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life is turned upside-down by a mistake. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Jane the Virgin<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span>Trigger Warning: For discussion of abortion<\/b><\/p>\n

Hello, hello, friends! This is a very, very exciting day, as I know that many of you have been waiting ACTUAL YEARS for me to start this show, and HERE WE ARE! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening!!! Before I jump into my review, I want to make sure to let any newcomers know that things are a little different here at Mark Watches, since I approach TV reviews in a slightly odd way. So, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re new to Mark Watches, here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what you need to know.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1) Spoilers are not allowed in any form on Mark Watches<\/b>. Please refrain from ever posting (in normal text) any sort of spoiler or reference to future storylines or developments while commenting on this site. This rule is probably a lot more strict than you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re used to, so if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re warned about spoilers or if your comment is edited because of it, trust me. This is for a reason. Please visit the\u00c2\u00a0Spoiler Policy<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0for guidance.<\/p>\n

2) You may, however, post spoilers in rot13.\u00c2\u00a0<\/b>You will inevitably see what looks like gibberish in the comments. We use\u00c2\u00a0rot13<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0to cipher all possible spoilers so that y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all\u00c2\u00a0can<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0still have a conversation about each episode if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen the entire show. Please cipher all spoilers.<\/p>\n

3) Please read the Site Rules before commenting<\/b>. My group of moderators and I try to make Mark Watches an exception to the rule when it comes to online conversations. This means that moderation is more evident here than other places. Please review the rules<\/a>, as this is your only warning.<\/p>\n

4) Mark Watches videos are attached as a link at the end of the post.<\/b>\u00c2\u00a0They are $0.99 each, and you can download each video 15 times, meaning you can send them to friends or anyone else for free. The system is built to handle free downloads, so download away. The lovely folks over at Mark Spoils run a place called the\u00c2\u00a0Black Market<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0where you can find extra downloads of videos in case you cannot afford them or don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to pay for them. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s totally sanctioned (and adored!) by me, so go ahead! Test them out. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s basically me sitting and yelling at my TV, and I cry a lot because reasons.<\/p>\n

In the beginning of the video commentary for this, I do mention the only two things I knew about Jane the Virgin<\/i> before starting it, and thankfully, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very, very little:<\/p>\n

1) I knew Gina Rodriguez was the star.<\/p>\n

2) I knew it was vaguely about or like telenovelas?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sort of where I want to start. I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exposed to telenovelas in any significant way until I was sixteen. My last two years of high school were spent mostly couch-surfing and living with friends who could take me in, and the two places I lived in the longest were Spanish-speaking households where telenovelas were on constantly<\/i>. Between that and going to church entirely in Spanish, I used this to re-learn Spanish (something I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been refocusing on these last couple of years, too!), and I also discovered just how addicting (and utterly fucking ridiculous) telenovelas can be. As a twin, I was O B S E S S E D with La Usurpadora<\/i>, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know if I could ever properly summarize just how far the storyline for that show goes. (I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m referring to the late 90s Mexican version, not the original ones from the 70s.) Actually, now that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thinking about it… oh my god, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such a hot mess. And super ableist? There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a whole fake-paralysis plot for a ton of episodes… lord. LORD. One of my friend\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mom was super into Amor en Silencio<\/i>. Oh shit, I JUST REMEMBERED Mar\u00c3\u00ada la del Barrio<\/i> I HATED THE SON IN THAT SHOW SO MUCH AND COULDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T UNDERSTAND WHY SHE LOVED HIM SO MUCH.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am by NO MEANS an expert on telenovelas, but they were a part of my life. I also understand why they sucked me in: serialization. Seriously, some of these storylines were a hundred episodes long. Even longer! Did they make sense? Some…. sometimes???? Part of the fun was how often a plot twist would come out of fucking NOWHERE that you never saw coming, but not necessarily because it was expertly constructed? Honestly, a lot of times, a twist came from a character we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d never seen, had never been mentioned, and was appearing for the first time. But it was so entertaining<\/i>. SO FUN.<\/p>\n

I think that even having a very casual knowledge of some of the telenovela tropes is going to give me a very satisfying experience with this show, because even though I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know a lot, I can already see how Jane the Virgin <\/i>is going to play with, toy with, and subvert the archetypes and tropes of the medium. And yet, the show itself feels so compelling to me not because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s playing in this particular sandbox. No, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because at the end of the day, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chapter One\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was sincere<\/i>. This premise might be a little ridiculous (but not impossible!), and the twists that appear here are a little fantastical at times, but Jane and the characters around her still feel so real<\/i>. They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t come off as composites of people, or as vehicles for jokes and satire and nothing else.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s do this.<\/p>\n

The Premise<\/b><\/p>\n

I LOVE A GOOD PREMISE, AND HOLY SHIT, THIS ONE IS SO GOOD. A religious Latina woman in Miami, who is waiting until she is married to have sex, is accidentally inseminated with the sperm of a man she had a crush on as a teenager. WHO IS NOW THE OWNER OF THE HOTEL SHE WORKS AT. And that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even cover the other stuff that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going on here. (All the subplots! The hints of future plot twists! THE DRAMA!!!) I just wanted to comment on this part separately from the rest because a great telenovela has a hook that grabs you right from the start, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what this is.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n